A man and his friends come up with an intricate and original plan to destroy two big weapons manufacturers.A man and his friends come up with an intricate and original plan to destroy two big weapons manufacturers.A man and his friends come up with an intricate and original plan to destroy two big weapons manufacturers.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
30K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Jean-Pierre Jeunet(scenario)
- Guillaume Laurant(scenario)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Jean-Pierre Jeunet(scenario)
- Guillaume Laurant(scenario)
- Stars
- Awards
- 5 wins & 8 nominations
Videos2
- Director
- Writers
- Jean-Pierre Jeunet(scenario)
- Guillaume Laurant(scenario) (dialogue)
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
Avid movie-watcher and video store clerk Bazil has had his life all but ruined by weapons of war. His father was killed by a landmine in Morocco and one fateful night a stray bullet from a nearby shootout embeds itself in his skull, leaving him on the verge of instantaneous death. Losing his job and his home, Bazil wanders the streets until he meets Slammer, a pardoned convict who introduces him to a band of eccentric junkyard dealers including Calculator, a math expert and statistician, Buster, a record-holder in human cannonball feats, Tiny Pete, an artistic craftsman of automatons, and Elastic Girl, a sassy contortionist. When chance reveals to Bazil the two weapons manufacturers responsible for building the instruments of his destruction, he constructs a complex scheme for revenge that his newfound family is all too happy to help set in motion. —The Massie Twins
- Genres
- Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated R for some sexuality and brief violence
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaThe full title in French - "Micmacs à tire-larigot" - literally means "non-stop shenanigans".
- GoofsWhen the three goons roll their ammunition down a table to decide who will execute De Fenouillet, the rounds roll in a straight line. Since the three of them use 357 magnum revolvers, the rounds have a rim which would make them roll in an arc of a circle.
Top review
Visually grand, mentally transfixing
When you think of revenge movies you generally picture a guy with a gun taking a swift and direct action against everyone who has ever wronged him. Guns are a theme here but not because our lead character, Bazil, uses one to fight injustice but because two prominent French arms dealers are responsible for his predicament. Bazil's father was killed by a landmine and Bazil himself is unwittingly shot by a stray bullet during a drive by shooting. Though he survives, the bullet remains in his brain causing him regular discomfort and meaning that he might die at any moment. This adds an underlying tension to the fairly subtle story as Bazil, out of work with nowhere to live, finds comfort with a group of fascinating sideshow style vagabonds who eventually become his allies in his battle against the greed, murder and manipulation of powerful arms dealers.
Aside from a truly riveting series of sly, witty and purposeful acts by this band of revengers, the film is also striking in its beauty with every scene presenting an intense array of colours fusing with incredibly intricate and detailed backdrops. These prevail particularly with the 'sideshow' who recycle scrap in to wonderful creations fresh from a fifties cartoon short. At one point Bazil sees a segment of an old cartoon where a character shoots another in the head. This depicts the correlation between the real world here and an animated fantasy-land with the epic and extremely clever revenge plan played out in much the same way that Sylvester chases Tweetie Pie or Wyle E.Coyote stalks Road Runner.
The films only fault is that sometimes is all almost too imaginative, barely allowing the mind to recollect what has happened before twenty or so other things occur, each steeped in a tranquil haze teasing the viewer's eyes like a mirrored tunnel encompassing a silent disco. Wonderfully indulgent movie, a treat for the eyes, ears, nose and mind.
Aside from a truly riveting series of sly, witty and purposeful acts by this band of revengers, the film is also striking in its beauty with every scene presenting an intense array of colours fusing with incredibly intricate and detailed backdrops. These prevail particularly with the 'sideshow' who recycle scrap in to wonderful creations fresh from a fifties cartoon short. At one point Bazil sees a segment of an old cartoon where a character shoots another in the head. This depicts the correlation between the real world here and an animated fantasy-land with the epic and extremely clever revenge plan played out in much the same way that Sylvester chases Tweetie Pie or Wyle E.Coyote stalks Road Runner.
The films only fault is that sometimes is all almost too imaginative, barely allowing the mind to recollect what has happened before twenty or so other things occur, each steeped in a tranquil haze teasing the viewer's eyes like a mirrored tunnel encompassing a silent disco. Wonderfully indulgent movie, a treat for the eyes, ears, nose and mind.
helpful•7215
- barnthebarn
- Feb 21, 2010
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- French for Beginners
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $42,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,262,079
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $42,751
- May 30, 2010
- Gross worldwide
- $16,979,882
- Runtime1 hour 45 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was Micmacs à tire-larigot (2009) officially released in Canada in English?
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